The Distance Between Us
by Deathsembrace137
Summary: LaLu Week Day 2: Distance.


**Lalu Week. Prompt 2. Distance. **

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, and all of it's amazing characters. **

"Lucy! Hey, Luce, are you listening?" Natsu waved his hand in my face, gathering my attention.

I slowly blinked my eyes and then turned to him, tearing my gaze away from the object of my distraction. "Sorry, what?" I asked slowly, my mind still caught up in it's musings, even though I was no longer watching him.

"I said, do you want to come fishing with me and Happy?" he asked, giving me an odd look. No doubt because more and more, my mind seemed to be lost. If he had any idea about what was distracting me, he'd be giving me an even weirder look.

"No. I'm going to stay here. Thanks though. Have fun," I murmured quietly, watching till he was out the door before letting my eyes slide back to the man across the room. I swear he was like gravity. I could no longer seem to keep my thoughts away from him. I wasn't sure I wanted to keep my thoughts away from him.

My heart thumped in my chest, and I glanced down at the table. Why was I having these feelings? I had never even spoken to the man, besides a passing greeting here or there. And now he was literally all I could think about it. My mind was constantly wandering off to him, no matter what I was doing. In the middle of conversations, jobs, hanging out with my friends, he'd just show up in my thoughts, and I'd be lost.

Staring at the grains of wood on the table, I carefully ran my hand along them, and tried to think of when it started. When I'd first started noticing him. It felt like he had always been there, in my mind, but I knew that wasn't true.

Frowning, I found a splinter in the wood and began tearing at it. Slowly, I began to remember. It had been after a long job, the team and I had been waiting for Mira to bring us dinner. I had been tired, actually, exhausted would be a better term. Gray and Natsu had bickered the entire mission, and I had a headache the size of Fiore, when I heard it. Laughter.

I hadn't recognized the sound of it, who it was coming from, but it was beautiful. Or... Maybe not beautiful, that sounds like I'm describing a woman or some type of scenery. It was just. The minute I heard it, everything in me lightened. My headache went away. I didn't feel as tired. In fast, I felt happy, my entire being reaching a state of utter contentment. And in that moment, every sound in the guild had faded away, except for that one laugh.

When I looked up to see who it was, to say I was surprised, no shocked, would be an understatement. It was, of all people, Laxus. Which, I suppose made sense. He would be the one member whose laugh I didn't know, because he was Laxus. He didn't laugh. A point proven, because since that day, I had yet to hear it again. And I was craving it.

Lifting my eyes, I did a slow scan of the room. Barely anyone was here. Just a few new members, the Raijinshuu, Laxus, and Mira working in the kitchen. After a few moments, I brought my gaze around to Laxus, and let out a soft breath. He was smiling. That was almost as rare as the laugh.

I smiled myself, because how I could not? Seeing him smile was contagious, like a yawn. I however, hid my smile by turning my face down. It was bad enough I had essentially become the guild's secret Juvia, I at least didn't want to be caught.

Hearing a clank, I looked up to see Mira setting a milk shake down for me, and smiled in thanks. She gave me a short smile in return, and then bustled away, leaving me to my thoughts. I bit the straw and took a small sip, contemplating on what I'd seen.

It had been Bickslow of course, who'd made Laxus smile. It always seemed to be him, though I'd seen Freed make him smile once too. Usually though, all Freed earned was a grimace. I smiled again at that, thinking about how devoted the green haired man was to Laxus. It was one of the curiosities I'd often found myself pondering. How he'd gained such absolute loyalty from those three.

My eyes centered upwards again, and I blinked in surprise. The Raijinshuu had left, and it was just Laxus now. He had his headphones on and was leaning back listening to them. What surprised me, was that he was still here. He almost never stayed behind when they left. In fact, I'd only ever seen him without them once or twice before.

A slight urge rose up within me. To go and speak to him. But, I immediately shoved it back down. There was no way I could muster the courage to talk to him. He was too... He was just Laxus. He was the Guild's strongest member. Well, there was Gildarts, whom most people thought was strongest, but I personally believed Laxus was. And Laxus, in all his strong, handsome, muscled glory, would never want to speak to me.

I sighed heavily and glanced back down at my melting milkshake. This wasn't the first time I'd wanted to talk to him. And I was sure it wouldn't be the last. My watching of Laxus had quickly turned into a crush, but now. Now I was fairly certain it was something else. I had fallen well past crush, and into the beginning phases of love. But how was that possible?

To fall for a man I'd never spoken to, was crazy. And yet, it was the truth. My secret hidden truth. I'd confided in no one about this, I mean, what could I say? That I had become his obsessed stalker, and even though he probably barely knew my name, I thought I had a chance. No. There was no delusions at least in that area. I knew he could never fall for me. I was nothing compared to him. I wasn't even worth a glance. In all the times I'd been watching him, never once, had I seen him look at me.

Another heavy sigh escaped my lips, and I glared at my milkshake. The desperate need to talk to him, again rose within me. The need to make him look at me, to make him see me. But as always, I pushed it away. I couldn't talk to him. Not until I knew him better.

It hadn't taken me long to discover that Laxus was an enigma. Weeks and weeks of watching, and it still took me needing to see him interacting with his friends to decipher his moods. And even then, I still had a hard time. And emotions? I saw a flicker, once or twice, in his eyes. But that was it. Weeks and weeks, and he was still as much a mystery as the first day I'd noticed him.

My eyes rose again to him, and a soft smile shook away my frown. He looked peaceful right now. He usually did when he was listening to music. My smile widened, as I realized I could pretty much watch him as much as I wanted, and I wouldn't be caught. When he was lost in music, he was about as distracted as I was, when I was lost with thoughts of him.

His blonde hair was swept back in their messy spikes, and I found myself imagining how soft they were. I found myself imagining staring into his beautiful blue eyes, and him staring back at me. Imagining how soft his lips would be, and how talented his tongue...

I bit my lip, and tightened my hand on my glass as my heart began to beat louder. The blood pumping through my veins felt suddenly hot, and I sipped quickly on my milkshake to calm myself. It was only as I was putting my glass down that I saw Mira watching me with interest. I felt my face flush and that interest on her face, immediately turned knowing. My secret was out.

I frowned as she walked around the counter of the bar, her dress swaying with each step as she came to me. How could the sway of a dress look so threatening? I closed my eyes and sighed again, really not wanting to hear about anything she had to say. After a few minutes of silence, I again opened them, curious in spite of myself to see why she hadn't started gushing.

She was standing over me, a look of understanding on her face. I opened my mouth, to began my tale, but she just shook her head. Then she leaned down, and whispering in my ear, she said, "Why don't you just try talking to him?"

I blinked slowly as she pulled away, gave me a small smile, and then walked back to the bar. I couldn't believe it. She was Mira. The Guild's one and only matchmaker, and she had just struck gold, and that's all she had to say. I frowned again then and looked down, feeling slightly put out. Wasn't she supposed to do more? Try and shove us together, or something like that.

Frowning, I found I felt slightly cheated. All she'd said was talk to him. But that, for me, was impossible. How I could I talk to a man who made my heart beat louder than a drum? Who made my insides twist and churn at just the first daily glimpse of him? How I could I talk to a man who, even though he was just on the other side of the room, was further away from me than my mom in heaven.

Sighing, I looked down. Yea, I couldn't talk to him. He was too far apart, too distant. Even if I did somehow muster the courage, what could I say? He wouldn't be the least bit interested in anything having to do with me. I was just Lucy, the girl who hung out with the annoying guy who was always challenging him to a fight. I was just the blonde cosplayer, or cheerleader, or whatever other nicknames Bickslow had created for me.

No. I couldn't talk to Laxus. Not today. Not ever. I simply didn't have what it took to interest him. Sighing, I looked at my still mostly full milk shake, and I stood up. I was done looking and pining away at something I couldn't have, at least for today.

With a last lingering glance at Laxus, I walked out the doors.

I had barely gone more than two steps when Natsu ran right into me. "Luce! We were on our way to see you. Look what we caught!" he yelled.

I stepped back, needing a second to adjust to his excitement, and frowned when I saw a large smelly fish hanging in the air where my head was just a second ago. "Wow Natsu. That's... large." I couldn't help but laugh slightly at Happy's wide eyes and drooling face, and at Natsu's boyish grin.

"I was gonna have Mira cook it for us. Were you heading home already?" Natsu asked.

"Um. I was going to, but I can stay if you want." Already my thoughts were on Laxus. Wondering if he was still listening to music, or if in the two minutes I'd been gone, he'd started doing something else. I was hopeless.

Natsu nodded, and gestured towards the doors. As soon as we were inside, Natsu frowned, "Wow, it's dead in here." Then, his face lit up. My face paled as I realized he was staring at Laxus. Before I could stop him, Natsu took off, and I stared in horror at my hand hanging in the air, grasping at nothing where his shirt once was.

"Laxus! Fight me!" Natsu yelled, running with a flaming fist towards Laxus. The man in question didn't even open his eyes. With his headphones still on, he simply raised his hand, grabbing Natsu's fist, and flung it. Natsu went flying, smashing into a back wall, and sliding heavily to the floor.

I gave the unconscious Natsu a look of pity, and then turned back to Laxus, and stopped. My hand clenched by my side, and my heart spun out of control. He was looking at me. Laxus was looking at me.

My eyes widened as I stared back at him. His expression was stoic, his eyes blank. And then he sighed, and turned away, again leaning back in his chair.

My heart sank and I sank with it, slowly into the chair closest to me, but still facing in his direction. Months of watching him, and he finally looked at me, and that's what I got. A blank look. He really didn't care about me.

I bit my lip, and tightened my fists, my nails biting into my skin. It hurt more than words could express. And more than ever before. I felt the space between us, the distance. I could never be his friend. I could never be the girl he looks at with love, or anything. I was nothing compared to him.

He was magnificent. He was so strong, so amazingly powerful. And so good looking. He was like a god. I snorted, as I thought of his nickname, the Thunder God. It was truly fitting.

An image came to my mind, of him crouching in front of us, protecting us from Master Hades. Lightning crackling around him. The sheer amount of power I had felt emanating from him. How could a man like that, ever see me?

I looked up at him again, and frowned. His shoulders were hunched and he was staring at his fists, and he looked... tired or lonely. Or something. Something other than his usual blank look. The pain in me tightened, the feeling that nothing could happen between us, because we were just too distant. But then, Mira's words suddenly came back to me. Talk to him.

Instead of pushing the thought away, I toyed with it. Could I talk to him? My heart gave a small leap of something.. Excitement? He was sitting all alone, and so was I. Why couldn't I go over there and sit with him. What's the worst that could happen? He could... he probably would get up and leave. But, I could at least try, couldn't I?

I slowly looked away from him and back to Mira. She was watching me. I raised my eyebrows, and she smiled encouragingly, giving a small nod in his direction. I kept staring at her, knowing she could see my worry and frustration. She gave me one more nod in his direction, and then turned away.

I turned back to him. And for the first time, I felt courage. And before I realized it, I'd pushed back my chair. Slowly, I took one step forward. One step towards him. One step to shorten the distance between us.

My heart leaped in my chest, and I slowly nodded. I could do this. I could close the distance between us. The only way we'd ever talk, was if I made it happen. And I suddenly felt the need to talk to him overpowering any and all of my anxieties.

When I reached his table. I didn't hesitate. There was no way I was giving my sudden feelings of bravery time to go away. So I quickly grabbed the chair next to him, and sat down. When I turned to him, his eyes were open, and watching me intently.

I smiled slowly, and then tapped my ears. I only had to wait a moment, before he slowly took off his headphones. His look was slightly guarded, but maybe a little curious as well. At least I hoped so. As long as he was curious, he might allow me to say.

"Hi," I started, immediately chiding myself over how stupid it sounded, how stupid I sounded. At least I didn't squeak, that thought alone giving me a small measure of confidence and comfort.

Laxus sat up, lifting his heavy frame from his seat, and leaned slightly towards me, "Hey Lucy."

I paused. My entire body freezing. My name on his lips sending an electric shock through me. His voice was so deep, so delicious. Could a voice be delicious? I never thought so before, but his was. It sent tremors through me.

Realizing I had yet to say anything else, I blushed in embarrassment, and turned away, searching my mind for something to say. My eyes landed on Natsu, still unconscious, and I smiled, and turned back. "Sorry about Natsu. He can be a little thickheaded."

The corner of Laxus lip twitched, and he spared a glance towards Natsu. "Think he's okay?" he asked, though he didn't look the least bit worried.

I turned and looked at Natsu again, who was now groaning and coming to. Then I turned back to Laxus, and nodded, "Like I said, he has a thick head. He's fine."

This time, I got more than a twitch. I got a full smile. And just like that, I was happy. I was content. I was thrilled. And I was thankful, that I had finally gotten the courage to take a few steps and close that distance between us. Because that smile was completely and totally worth the weeks of pining. That smile was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen. And in that moment, as I looked upon his face, I vowed to get as many smiles from him as I could. Because there was nothing as wonderful as seeing him smile.

**Woo! Day 2 is done! This story made me really happy for some reason. I was listening to Christina Perri's A Thousand Years song while I wrote it, and it totally inspired me. So, thank you Christina Perri. LOL. **


End file.
